State allocates $4M to 5 cities to fight blight

INDIANAPOLIS - Five Indiana communities are receiving a total of $4 million to eliminate blighted and abandoned homes.

Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann announced grants from the Indiana Hardest Hit Fund Blight Elimination Program on Friday. Anderson is receiving the most funding at $1.28 million, followed by Muncie at $1.1 million. Terre Haute will receive $897,000, Evansville $677,000 and the town of Daleville, 10 miles southwest of Muncie, will receive $43,000.

The goal of the Blight Elimination Program is to eliminate blighted, vacant and abandoned homes in an effort to decrease foreclosures. The program has made a total of $75 million available for blight elimination throughout Indiana.

Ellspermann says the program allows communities to transform blighted homes into functional, revitalized spaces that will again contribute to the local economy.